Roller bearings of the type to which the present invention relate typically comprise bearing elements or the like having cylindrical or flat raceways and a plurality of rolling elements held in a cage between the raceways wherein at least one of the raceways is bounded by flanges which preferably have slanted contact surfaces. A roller bearing of this type is shown, for example, in West German Registered Design No. 72-12,720. In this roller bearing assembly, the rolling elements strike the flanges of one of the bearing elements when the shaft or the like moves in an axial direction which can produce damage to the rolling elements.